About Last Night: The Yankees Crush Cubs

About Last Night: The Yankees Sent the Cubs into Hibernation 11-0

By Tim Kabel

July 12, 2025

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The Yankees fired on all cylinders last night, shutting the Cubs down and out 11-0. Carlos Rodon pitched like an ace and an All-Star, allowing only four hits over eight innings while striking out eight. Cody Bellinger had three home runs and narrowly missed a fourth. Aaron Judge put on a defensive clinic in rightfield. It was a great night for the Yankees. Let's hope they continue this for the last two games before the All-Star break and then after its conclusion.

Quick Stats – 

·       Cody Bellinger hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career and matched his career high in RBI with six.

·       The Yankees have three three-home run games so far this season. Aaron Judge did it on March 29 and Jasson Dominguez did it on May 9. This is the first time that has happened in franchise history. 

·       Anthony Volpe has five hits in the month of July and his batting average is now .215. Before you panic, remember he has had some good swings lately.

·       This was Cody Bellinger’s 18th multi-home run game in his career. 

·       I listened to part of the game on the radio last night. Say what you want about John Sterling, but Dave Sims has missed more games in his first season as the “Voice of the Yankees” than Sterling did in his entire tenure in that role.

·       On July 11th, 1939, the Yankees started six players in the All-Star game.

·       On July 11th, 1914, Babe Ruth made his Major League pitching debut, earning a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Naps.

·       On July 11th, 1985, Nolan Ryan became the first pitcher in MLB history to record 4,000 strikeouts. He finished with 5,714. Only three other pitchers in the history of the game reached 4,000. None made it to 5,000.

Big Story – 

The second-place Yankees drubbed the Cubs last night to win their fifth game in a row. They are now twelve games over .500 but still trail the Toronto Blue Jays by two games. Perhaps more importantly, the Red Sox have now jumped over the Rays into third place and have won eight games in a row. Remember, the Red Sox have manhandled the Yankees so far this season. Well, most of the American League East has. It's good that the Yankees have a five-game-winning streak and hopefully, they can keep that going. However, the fact that they didn't take advantage of the schedule and rack up wins throughout June and the first week of July may come back to bite them.

Player of the Game – 

Cody Bellinger had a career night against his former team.

Notable Performances – 

Carlos Rodon was outstanding in winning his 10th game. He showed why he is worthy of his third All-Star appearance.

Paul Goldschmidt continued his recent hot streak, with three hits and two RBI. He raised his batting average to .294.

Better To Forget-

Anthony Volpe did have a double and an RBI, but he continues to struggle offensively. Hopefully he can rebound after the All-Star break. 

My Take – 

Many people will say that the Boone-Swoon is over. They will look at the five-game winning streak the Yankees have and breathe a sigh of relief. They will be convinced that the worst is over. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it is not.

Boone-Swoons are like hurricanes. They happen every year. They vary in severity and duration. Eventually, they end. However, they almost always leave a big mess and a lot of damage in their wake. The Yankees were dreadful from May 30th until last Sunday. They once had a seven-game lead in the American League East. Now, they are in second place. No matter what happens over the next two days, the best they can hope for is to be tied for first place. Toronto does not appear to be fading and the Red Sox are surging. Also, the Yankees have been awful against the American League East this year. They have their work cut out for them.

This recent winning streak has done one thing. It guarantees that Aaron Boone will not be fired in the immediate future and probably not during the season. Even if they lose today and tomorrow, it won't happen. He will get a chance to lead the team back to first place after the All-Star break. I don't know if he can do it. The Yankees are in a rather precarious situation at this point. If they start another losing streak, the Red Sox could pass them just as they passed the Rays. 

The Yankees could go in either direction at this point. They could resume losing and fade or this winning streak might not be a mirage. Let’s see what happens. As they say, the proof is in the pudding. 

Next Up-

The Yankees will play the second game of the three-game series against the Cubs today at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Matthew Boyd, (9-3, 2.52 ERA) will pitch for Chicago. The Yankees will send Max Fried, (11-2, 2.27 ERA) to the mound. Let's hope Max doesn’t “miss it by that much”.

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Cover image created by Google Copilot